Britain has the biggest cry babies

British babies cry more than any others in the world, according to new research.

The study showed babies cry more in Britain, Canada, Italy and Netherlands than in other countries, while parents in Denmark, Germany and Japan deal with the least tears and tantrums.

Babies around the world cry, on average, for around two hours per day in their first two weeks, suggests the study.

Crying peaks at two hours 15 mins at six weeks before reducing to one hour 10 minutes by week twelve, according to the findings.

But some babies were found to cry as little as 30 minutes - and others for more than four hours - in 24 hours.

Researchers at Warwick University have formulated the world’s first universal charts for the normal amount of crying in babies during the first three months.

An analysis of studies involving almost 8,700 babies, Professor Dieter Wolke calculated the average of how long babies fuss and cry per 24 hours across different cultures in their first twelve weeks.

Babies cry the most in the UK, Italy, Canada, and the Netherlands - and the lowest levels of crying were found in Denmark, Germany and Japan.

The highest levels of colic - defined as crying more than three hours a day for at least three days a week in a baby - were found in the UK (28 per cent of infants at 1-2 weeks), Canada (34.1 per cent at 3-4 weeks of age) and Italy (20.9% at 8-9 weeks of age).

In contrast, lowest colic rates were reported in Denmark (5.5 per cent at 3-4 weeks) and Germany (6.7 per cent at 3-4 weeks).

The current definitions for determining whether a baby is crying too much and suffering from colic, called the Wessel criteria, were formulated in the 1950s.

As childcare and the family unit has largely transformed over the last half century and across different cultures, Prof Wolke said new universal guidelines were needed for modern parents and health professionals to assess normal and excessive levels of crying in babies.

He added: “Babies are already very different in how much they cry in the first weeks of life - there are large but normal variations.

“We may learn more from looking at cultures where there is less crying and whether this may be due to parenting or other factors relating to pregnancy experiences or genetics.

“The new chart of normal fuss/cry amounts in babies across industrialised countries will help health professionals to reassure parents whether a baby is crying within the normal expected range in the first three months or shows excessive crying which may require further evaluation and extra support for the parents.”